Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/393

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IRVING
IRVING
363


to the knowledge of all the neighborhood. When he died, the grief there was universal and sincere. On the day of his funeral (1 Dec, 1859), a remark- ably mild day for the season, the village shops were closed and draped in mourning, and both sides of the high-road leading from the church, of which he had been warden, to the grave by Sleepy Hollow, where his body lies, were black with the throngs of those who had come from far and near to do honor to his memory. We cannot class Washington Irving among those strenuous souls who delve new channels for thought ; his touch in literature is of a gentler sort. We may safely, however, count him the best beloved among Amer- ican authors — his character was so clean, his lan- guage so full of grace, his sympathies so true and wide, and his humor so genuine and abounding. After his death appeared his " Life and Letters," Edited by his nephew, who also collected and edited his " Spanish Papers and other Miscellanies " (3 vols., 1866). During Irving's lifetime, 600,000 vol- umes of his works were sold in the United States, and from his death till the present time (1887) the annual sale has averaged 30,000 volumes. Of the portraits of Irving, that by his friend. Gilbert Stuart Newton, painted in 1820, was most es- teemed by the family, and best liked by the au- thor. The portrait by John Vanderlyn, painted in 1805, that by John Wesley Jarvis, in 1810. and that by Charles Martin, an English artist, in 1851, are well known by engravings. The Jarvis picture was considered excellent, and with the bust by Ball Hughes, which is also good, is still ? reserved at the Irving homestead of Sunnyside. brtraits by Escacena, painted in Seville, Spain, in 1829, by Vogel in Dresden in 1823, and by Foy in Paris in 1824, which are named in Pierre Ir- ving's biography, are not known by engravings, nor has their present ownership been traced. Sir David Wilkie's sketch of " Washington Irving consulting the Archives of Cordova" (25 April, 1828), which forms the frontispiece to one of Wilkie's published volumes, can hardly be considered a likeness. The steel portrait that accompanies this article is from a photograph. Busts of Irving have been set up in Central park and in Prospect park, Brooklyn. The latest edition of Irving's works is that published in New York (27 vols., 12mo, 1884-'6). A tabulated list of books and pamphlets relating to the author's life and writings appeared in the " reference lists " of the Providence public library for April, 1883. In the same year was founded a Washington Irving association at Tarrytown, which commemorated the hundredth anniversary of the author's birth by a public meeting and addresses, of which record was made in a memorial volume (New York, 1884). The standard life of Irving is that by his nephew, Pierre M. Irving (4 vols., 1862-'3 ; memorial ed., 4to, 1883 ; German abridgment by Adolph Lann, Ber- lin, 1870). See also William C. Bryant's address before the New York historical society (New York, 1860); that of Henry W. Longfellow before the Massachusetts historical society, published in its " Proceedings " (Boston. 1860) : " Irvingiana " (New York, 1860) ; Charles Dudley Warner's " Life of Irving" in the "American Men of Letters" series (Boston, 1881) ; and James Grant Wilson's " Brvant and his Friends" (New York, 1886).— His brother, William, merchant, b. in New York city, 15 Aug., 1766 ; d. there, 9 Nov., 1821, engaged in commercial pursuits, and from 1787 till 1791 was a fur-trader with the Indians on the Mohawk river, residing at Johnstown and Caughnawaga, N. Y. In 1793 he settled in New York city, and married a sister of James K. Paulding, one of the authors of •' Salma- gundi." In the preparation of the latter work he took an active part, contributing most of the politi- cal pieces " from the mill of Pindar Cockloft." He also furnished hints and sketches for several of the prose articles, as the letters of " Mustapha " in Nos. 5 and 14, which were elaborated by his brother Washington. His extensive experience, combined with his wit and genial mariners, made his house a literary centre, and although his poetical and other contributions to " Salmagundi," if issued separately, would have given him a distinct place among American humorists, he was entirely unambitious of literary fame. He was elected to congress three times as a Democrat, serving from 22 Jan., 1814. till 1818, when he resigned in consequence of declining health. — Another brother, Peter, author, b. in New York city, 30 Oct., 1771 ; d. there, 27 June, 1838, was graduated as a physician in Columbia in 1794, but never practised his profession. In Octo- ber, 1802, he began the publication of the " Morn- ing Chronicle," a Democratic newspaper, which advocated the election of Aaron Burr to the presi- dency. Among the contributors were the editor's brothers, Washington and John Treat, J. K. Paul- ding, William A. Duer, and Randolph Bunner. In 1807 he travelled in Europe, and on his return projected, with his brother Washington, the work that the latter developed into " Knickerbocker's History of New York." He again visited Europe in 1809, established himself in business there, and remained until 1836. During his residence abroad he published " Giovanni Sbogarro, a Venetian Tale " (New York, 1820).— Another brother, John Treat, lawyer, b. in New York city in 1778; d. there, 18 March, 1838, was graduated at Columbia in 1798. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and from 1817 until his death served as presiding judge of the New York court of common pleas. By his contributions to his brother's " Chronicle " he acquired some reputation through his poetical attacks on his political opponents. " He was," says the biographer of Washington Irving, " a man of perfect uprightness and great refinement of char- acter, and enjoyed through life the high respect of the community. In his earlier days he had some- thing of a literary turn, which, however, was soon quenched under the dry details of the law and the resolute fidelity with which he gave himself up to the claims of his profession." — William's son, Pierre Munroe, lawyer, b. in 1803 ; d. in New York city, 11 Feb., 1876. was graduated at Colum- bia in 1821, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. Meeting his uncle, Washington, in Spain in 1826, during a " youthful tour of Europe, he, at the latter's request, took charge of the work of get- ting the "Life of Columbus" correctly through the press in London. Subsequently he acted as his uncle's literary assistant, managed his business affairs, and attended him in his last illness. Some years before his death, Washington Irving appoint- ed Pierre his biographer, and in 1862-'3 the latter published " The Life and Letters of Washington Irving " (New York). He also edited his uncle's " Spanish Papers and Other Miscellanies " (1866). — Theodore, educator, son of Washington's brother, Ebenezer, b. in New York city, 9 May, 1809 ; d. there, 20 Dec, 1880. joined his "uncle in Spain, and remained three years abroad, attending lectures and devoting himself to the study of modern lan- guages. He subsequently read law in London and New York. In 1836 he was appointed professor of history and belles-lettres in Geneva (now Hobart) college, where he remained until 1848, when he accepted the corresponding chair in the Free academy (now College of the city) of New York.